The Dark Lady was a mysterious mistress from Shakespeare’s writing who’s identity was always a mystery, but scholars think they might have figured her out. The Dark Lady is first brought up in Sonnet 127, which means that she was probably Shakespeare’s mistress that fall. She is continuously mentioned throughout 28 sonnets, in which the poet becomes “romantically obsessed” with her, as said by the Folger Shakespeare Library, and scholars also think that several of Shakespeare’s playwrights were written about her. These playwrights include Richard III, A Shrew, and A Shrew in 1594.
The most curious aspect of the Dark Lady was her appearance. Her appearance is mentioned briefly in Sonnets 127-129, by saying things like her eyes are “raven-black” and how she isn’t the “conventional beauty, as the Folger Shakespeare Library said. But in Sonnet 130, Shakespeare really explains what she looks like. He says things like her lips aren’t red or pink like most women’s, her skin is not white, she had black hair, and her cheeks are not red or white, also like most women’s at the time. He also says that even though she does not look like the normal beautiful woman, she is just as lovely.
The best guess that we can make as to who she is, is Emilia Lanier. Her father was Baptisa Bassano, a Christianized Venetian Jew, which explains the darker color in skin, and he was an important musician for King Henry VIII’s court. Since her father was a musician, she was taught how to play the virginal, a piano-like instrument, which is important because in many of Shakespeare’s sonnets about the Dark Lady, he talks about how she makes music. At one point, Emilia was the mistress of Lord Hunsdon, a patron of Shakespeare’s theatre company. Then, she became pregnant and married Alfonso Lanier. Emilia regularly visited the office of Simon Foreman, a doctor, to ask for career help for her husband. During these visits, she sometimes “fell into his bed” as pbs.org says. Emilia apparently loved to stir up emotions in men. This leads us to believe that she was likely to have had an affair with Shakespeare.
Another reason why scholars believe that the Dark Lady was Emilia is because a source said that Shakespeare followed a woman “into a house in the city” on Curtain Road in Shoreditch. He also said that the woman was the mistress of a rich old man, much like Lord Hunsdon.
One of the more surprising reasons why we think Emilia is the Dark Lady is because the affair with her was much like the first sexual encounter in Richard III. Also, Blackfriars, where Emilia lived, is directly between the two main places in Richard III. The father of Richard’s-who many believed to be Shakespeare-maiden Kate, was named Baptisa, just like Emilia’s father.
The last reason why we are confident in our assumption is because in A Shrew, the father’s name was Alfonso, like Emilia’s husband, but in A Shrew in 1594, he becomes Baptisa. Rene Weis said, “The name Baptisa affords presumptive evidence that the Dark Lady was Emilia Lanier-and it suggests, furthermore, that Kate Minola of Padua, daughter of Baptisa, is based off Emilia Lanier, daughter of another Baptisa.” Because of all of these connections, scholars believe that Emilia Lanier truly is the Dark Lady, but the Dark Lady will forever be a mystery.
This is Sonnet 130 that started the talk about The Dark Lady. It is where he contrasts her features and the features of the normal beautiful woman.
This video is about Shakespeare's sonnets. It goes into detail about The Dark Lady and the sonnets that she was involved in.
The true identity of The Dark Lady is still a mystery, but the pictures above are some examples of what she may have looked like.
Emilia Lanier, the woman they believe to be The Dark Lady, played this instrument, the virginal.
The most curious aspect of the Dark Lady was her appearance. Her appearance is mentioned briefly in Sonnets 127-129, by saying things like her eyes are “raven-black” and how she isn’t the “conventional beauty, as the Folger Shakespeare Library said. But in Sonnet 130, Shakespeare really explains what she looks like. He says things like her lips aren’t red or pink like most women’s, her skin is not white, she had black hair, and her cheeks are not red or white, also like most women’s at the time. He also says that even though she does not look like the normal beautiful woman, she is just as lovely.
The best guess that we can make as to who she is, is Emilia Lanier. Her father was Baptisa Bassano, a Christianized Venetian Jew, which explains the darker color in skin, and he was an important musician for King Henry VIII’s court. Since her father was a musician, she was taught how to play the virginal, a piano-like instrument, which is important because in many of Shakespeare’s sonnets about the Dark Lady, he talks about how she makes music. At one point, Emilia was the mistress of Lord Hunsdon, a patron of Shakespeare’s theatre company. Then, she became pregnant and married Alfonso Lanier. Emilia regularly visited the office of Simon Foreman, a doctor, to ask for career help for her husband. During these visits, she sometimes “fell into his bed” as pbs.org says. Emilia apparently loved to stir up emotions in men. This leads us to believe that she was likely to have had an affair with Shakespeare.
Another reason why scholars believe that the Dark Lady was Emilia is because a source said that Shakespeare followed a woman “into a house in the city” on Curtain Road in Shoreditch. He also said that the woman was the mistress of a rich old man, much like Lord Hunsdon.
One of the more surprising reasons why we think Emilia is the Dark Lady is because the affair with her was much like the first sexual encounter in Richard III. Also, Blackfriars, where Emilia lived, is directly between the two main places in Richard III. The father of Richard’s-who many believed to be Shakespeare-maiden Kate, was named Baptisa, just like Emilia’s father.
The last reason why we are confident in our assumption is because in A Shrew, the father’s name was Alfonso, like Emilia’s husband, but in A Shrew in 1594, he becomes Baptisa. Rene Weis said, “The name Baptisa affords presumptive evidence that the Dark Lady was Emilia Lanier-and it suggests, furthermore, that Kate Minola of Padua, daughter of Baptisa, is based off Emilia Lanier, daughter of another Baptisa.” Because of all of these connections, scholars believe that Emilia Lanier truly is the Dark Lady, but the Dark Lady will forever be a mystery.
This is Sonnet 130 that started the talk about The Dark Lady. It is where he contrasts her features and the features of the normal beautiful woman.
This video is about Shakespeare's sonnets. It goes into detail about The Dark Lady and the sonnets that she was involved in.
The true identity of The Dark Lady is still a mystery, but the pictures above are some examples of what she may have looked like.
Emilia Lanier, the woman they believe to be The Dark Lady, played this instrument, the virginal.
Here is a great website that tells you about Emilia Lanier, and her connection to The Dark Lady.
Here is a great link that tells you a lot about why The Dark Lady is thought to be Emilia Lanier.
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